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University of North Carolina Athletics
Hubert Davis
Photo by: ANTHONY SORBELLINI
Hubert Davis Pre-Georgia Tech Media Q&A
December 10, 2022 | Men's Basketball
Hubert Davis Press Conference
December 9, 2022
Q: About losing D'Marco Dunn to injury.
Hubert Davis: "Yeah, it was a really big blow to not have D'Marco (at Virginia Tech). It was the last drill in practice efore we were getting ready to go on the bus and go up to Blacksburg. He ran into Beau Maye, it was just a regular play, and felt something in his hand and broke his hand. So it's just really unfortunate because he was playing really well. He was gaining minutes coming off the bench, his ability to shoot, defend at the guard position is so beneficial to us. I just really wanted him out there on the floor but right now, it looks like he could be back by the end of this month. That's really great news for us. One of the things I always tell the guys is you always have an opportunity, the only thing I can't say to you is when, where, how, and the manner in which you'll get that opportunity. And so now that's an opportunity for more minutes for guys like Seth [Trimble], who has been playing great off the bench, Tyler Nickel, [Dontrez Styles,] other guys getting an opportunity to get more minutes out there on the floor."
Q: About Seth Trimble's play in the second half run at Virginia Tech.
HD: "I've always been encouraged with Seth. I'm so thankful that he's a part of this team and he's here at Carolina. He's just gifted. In terms of his athleticism and his ability on both ends of the floor to use that athleticism to be really beneficial to us. Like defensively, he's just a great on-ball defender, his pressure is just really good. He can stay in front of anyone, it's very difficult and very hard to post him up because he's really strong. On the offensive end, he's one of the fastest guys I've ever seen with the ball. Just encouraging him in transition and also half court situations, coming off ball screens. One of the things I always say 'attack, attack, attack' because I just don't think anybody can stay in front of him and when he gets the ball into the paint to the basket, he has a really good understanding of when to shoot and when to pass and create, not only for himself but for others. I just love that he's here, he's a great kid and a great player."
Q: About how it feels getting back into routine being at home and able to practice regularly.
HD: "It's been great. It's been nice to get back into our routine. I talked to you guys in reference to the discipline and the details that I've been telling the team that that's what we have to get back to in terms of our consistency on both ends of the floor. I think the only way that you can build those habits is practice and prior to this week, we haven't had an opportunity to practice and so this week has been great, it's been nice to get home, it's been nice to get back to practice and reinforce the things that I think put us in a position to be successful on both ends of the floor. It's just been good to be able to do that consecutive days in the midst of exams. Georgia Tech is a really good basketball team and I really feel like our preparation this week has been really good and it puts us in a position to be the best that we can be tomorrow afternoon."
Q: Asking if he thinks having more practice can fix what hasn't been working.
HD: "I do. One of the things that I told you guys, and one of the things that I did this week and I had time to do it, was look at it in two parts, offensively and defensively and look at the things offensively that we're doing well and then look at the things that I think we need to improve on. Then from a defensive standpoint, what things are we doing well and what things do we need to improve on, and then everyday pick two or three things that we adjust on the offensive side and on the defensive side and try to continue to build those habits to move that over to a strength, whether it's offense or defense. Having that time, not only to think about it and write it down, but to also implement it in practice and do it, I think is just really big for us."
Q: What stood out on offense that you need to get better at?
HD: "A number of things. I'm putting out two things. One, the offensive glass. You know, that's just always been a foundation piece for us, getting second chance opportunities and outside of Armando [Bacot], we just haven't had a presence in terms of offensive glass and so just reinforcing that this is important for us and that we have to do a better job of that. I really also think in terms of our execution, just the pace and the purpose of our play, giving it to the right spots and talking about setting solid and legal screens. What a great example when you play Virginia Tech and when they screen, they screened. We weren't screening, we weren't in the right spots, we weren't running our plays with pace and purpose. Being able just to talk about it, to see it on film, and to be able to practice it, those are two things offensively that we've been working on this week."
Q: Any update on Bacot?
HD: "There is an update. He practiced yesterday on a limited basis, today I'm expecting him to do even more today and there's a chance that he can play tomorrow. It just depends how he feels but it is trending in the right direction. He practiced for the first time yesterday and today his reps will go up and if it continues to go up, I'm going under the assumption that he will play but it depends on how he feels. One of the things that I always tell the players is the most important thing to me is their health. It's not the game, it's their health. I just want to take care of all our players and make sure that all of our players are healthy and well up on the floor."
Q: Will Jalen Washington will play tomorrow?
HD: "There is a chance for Jalen to be out there. He has been full go in practice this entire week. I think the biggest thing for him is conditioning but in terms of basketball, he's ready to go and I wouldn't be surprised if Jalen goes in the game tomorrow afternoon."
Q: Asking about details of Armando Bacot's injury.
HD: "Soreness, it was an A/C (shoulder joint) sprain. Typically, it gets better every day. I don't have a time frame in terms of it, it's more like an ankle sprain in terms of healing, in terms of feeling. I've never done it personally so I don't know what it feels like but it's more soreness. They've taken x-rays, they've done ultrasounds, there's nothing structurally damaged or anything like that so it's just soreness and being able to manage that."
Q: About extending the defense in the second half at Virginia Tech.
HD: "We are going to do that more. I really liked it. When we were in Portland, I felt like we trapped a lot more against Alabama and I felt like it was effective for us and so then at Virginia Tech, we extended that pressure with about 10 minutes to go in the game and I really liked it and the players this week have come to me individually and said how much they did like it and that this is something they would like to do more. After watching that on the bus ride back, I told the rest of the coaches that this is something that we're going to do. It's really good, it's something that we should use throughout the game, not just in game situations, whether you're behind or not and I think it could be really good for us."
Q: Is it more effective with the three guards in at a time?
HD: "I wouldn't say it's more effective with the three guards, Seth and Caleb [Love] and RJ [Davis] are very good on ball defenders, they're very quick, so it's nice to have those guards out there. I don't think it has to have those three out there. I think an effective trap, being able to get steals and deflections, it's all about activity and for whatever reason, that group brought tremendous activity out there on the floor and that's why I kept them on there, I just felt like that group for whatever reason was working and that's why I kept them on the floor for pretty much the remainder of the game."
Q: What does UNC need to better defensively?
HD: "One of the things is just protecting the paint. I'll tell you two things. It's one, protecting the paint. Over the last two games, Indiana and Virginia Tech have gotten 92 points in the paint. That's just not sustainable, that's not good, that's just not going to work. Just reinforcing our positioning to be able to take away the layups and the dunks and the deep post catches and the easy looks right around the rim, just have to do a better job at that, it is what it is. We've been talking all day everyday about protecting the paint. The second thing on the defensive end, is having trust. From a defensive standpoint, I have felt like we haven't trusted each other, and one of the things that I told them is what you have to do is, if you give help, and I've been telling us everyday, if you give help, you will get help. OIf you get help, you will get help. And just trusting that if you give help, your teammate will give you help. And I think that's been the biggest thing defensively. Throughout a game, you're going to get beat and you've got to trust that your teammate will be there. That consistently hasn't been happening. So we just talked about that and I felt like when I said that, all of them looked up and looked at me and I think it resonated with them and my hope is it can play out in tomorrow's game too."
Q: About shutting out noise of praise and how that narrative has been flipped and what his message is.
HD: "I haven't specifically talked to them about how it's changed. Again, I am not on social media. I don't read the newspaper, I don't look at the news, I'm not in chat rooms, so I have no idea what people are saying. I'm assuming it's from the criticism direction. To me, my stance has always been, whether it comes from the criticism direction or the praise direction, it's noise. You've got to learn how to turn down the noise from the phone, family, and friends whatever direction it is. That's something that I always talk about but haven't specifically talked about which direction it's coming from now, because I don't care, and I don't even care to look at it or read it or to look at it."
Q: About challenges of players seeing negative noise on social media.
HD: "Even though I haven't seen it, some of our guys got two phones, so that's extra noise. They're 18, 19 years old and have two phones and I'm married and have three kids and got one phone. That's a lot of noise. Reading the comments on Instagram, reading a newspaper, looking at TV shows. One of the things that you have to do, I tell them, is turn it off or turn it down. Not look at it as much or turn the phone off. I like to spend my time on what is real and what is real is focusing on our improvement as a team and focusing on tomorrow against a very good Georgia Tech team. That's where my focus is on. I just think it's a waste of time to focus on someone's opinion that isn't in the locker room and isn't in practice, doesn't have a uniform, isn't on the floor, and doesn't run out of the tunnel. It is what it is and let's just focus on who we are, let's see if we can get better each day and at the end of the day, let's just live with the results and have fun."
Q: About what Coach Davis has noticed studying Georgia Tech.
HD: "Coach Pastnor is an unbelievable coach and they have a unique system. From a defensive standpoint, they mix up their defenses and most of the time when they make a shot, they're in one of their two different types of zones, whether it's a 1-3-1 or a matchup zone, and on a missed shot, they're back in their man to man. And they can do a number of things out of their man to man defense. You know from an offensive standpoint, most of the time, if not all the time, their offense is bound by their Princeton principals and in preparation to them, you have to tweak and alter and change a little bit how you play defensively to put yourself in a position and be able to defend back cuts and different types of motions. For them, it's the same as last year, different people. They don't have [Michael] Devoe and [Jordan] Usher…but it doesn't matter. They've got unbelievable players that thrive in that system. They compete, they play hard, they just came off a really good win at home against Georgia and so they're coming in confident as well. I'm looking forward to the challenge tomorrow."
December 9, 2022
Q: About losing D'Marco Dunn to injury.
Hubert Davis: "Yeah, it was a really big blow to not have D'Marco (at Virginia Tech). It was the last drill in practice efore we were getting ready to go on the bus and go up to Blacksburg. He ran into Beau Maye, it was just a regular play, and felt something in his hand and broke his hand. So it's just really unfortunate because he was playing really well. He was gaining minutes coming off the bench, his ability to shoot, defend at the guard position is so beneficial to us. I just really wanted him out there on the floor but right now, it looks like he could be back by the end of this month. That's really great news for us. One of the things I always tell the guys is you always have an opportunity, the only thing I can't say to you is when, where, how, and the manner in which you'll get that opportunity. And so now that's an opportunity for more minutes for guys like Seth [Trimble], who has been playing great off the bench, Tyler Nickel, [Dontrez Styles,] other guys getting an opportunity to get more minutes out there on the floor."
Q: About Seth Trimble's play in the second half run at Virginia Tech.
HD: "I've always been encouraged with Seth. I'm so thankful that he's a part of this team and he's here at Carolina. He's just gifted. In terms of his athleticism and his ability on both ends of the floor to use that athleticism to be really beneficial to us. Like defensively, he's just a great on-ball defender, his pressure is just really good. He can stay in front of anyone, it's very difficult and very hard to post him up because he's really strong. On the offensive end, he's one of the fastest guys I've ever seen with the ball. Just encouraging him in transition and also half court situations, coming off ball screens. One of the things I always say 'attack, attack, attack' because I just don't think anybody can stay in front of him and when he gets the ball into the paint to the basket, he has a really good understanding of when to shoot and when to pass and create, not only for himself but for others. I just love that he's here, he's a great kid and a great player."
Q: About how it feels getting back into routine being at home and able to practice regularly.
HD: "It's been great. It's been nice to get back into our routine. I talked to you guys in reference to the discipline and the details that I've been telling the team that that's what we have to get back to in terms of our consistency on both ends of the floor. I think the only way that you can build those habits is practice and prior to this week, we haven't had an opportunity to practice and so this week has been great, it's been nice to get home, it's been nice to get back to practice and reinforce the things that I think put us in a position to be successful on both ends of the floor. It's just been good to be able to do that consecutive days in the midst of exams. Georgia Tech is a really good basketball team and I really feel like our preparation this week has been really good and it puts us in a position to be the best that we can be tomorrow afternoon."
Q: Asking if he thinks having more practice can fix what hasn't been working.
HD: "I do. One of the things that I told you guys, and one of the things that I did this week and I had time to do it, was look at it in two parts, offensively and defensively and look at the things offensively that we're doing well and then look at the things that I think we need to improve on. Then from a defensive standpoint, what things are we doing well and what things do we need to improve on, and then everyday pick two or three things that we adjust on the offensive side and on the defensive side and try to continue to build those habits to move that over to a strength, whether it's offense or defense. Having that time, not only to think about it and write it down, but to also implement it in practice and do it, I think is just really big for us."
Q: What stood out on offense that you need to get better at?
HD: "A number of things. I'm putting out two things. One, the offensive glass. You know, that's just always been a foundation piece for us, getting second chance opportunities and outside of Armando [Bacot], we just haven't had a presence in terms of offensive glass and so just reinforcing that this is important for us and that we have to do a better job of that. I really also think in terms of our execution, just the pace and the purpose of our play, giving it to the right spots and talking about setting solid and legal screens. What a great example when you play Virginia Tech and when they screen, they screened. We weren't screening, we weren't in the right spots, we weren't running our plays with pace and purpose. Being able just to talk about it, to see it on film, and to be able to practice it, those are two things offensively that we've been working on this week."
Q: Any update on Bacot?
HD: "There is an update. He practiced yesterday on a limited basis, today I'm expecting him to do even more today and there's a chance that he can play tomorrow. It just depends how he feels but it is trending in the right direction. He practiced for the first time yesterday and today his reps will go up and if it continues to go up, I'm going under the assumption that he will play but it depends on how he feels. One of the things that I always tell the players is the most important thing to me is their health. It's not the game, it's their health. I just want to take care of all our players and make sure that all of our players are healthy and well up on the floor."
Q: Will Jalen Washington will play tomorrow?
HD: "There is a chance for Jalen to be out there. He has been full go in practice this entire week. I think the biggest thing for him is conditioning but in terms of basketball, he's ready to go and I wouldn't be surprised if Jalen goes in the game tomorrow afternoon."
Q: Asking about details of Armando Bacot's injury.
HD: "Soreness, it was an A/C (shoulder joint) sprain. Typically, it gets better every day. I don't have a time frame in terms of it, it's more like an ankle sprain in terms of healing, in terms of feeling. I've never done it personally so I don't know what it feels like but it's more soreness. They've taken x-rays, they've done ultrasounds, there's nothing structurally damaged or anything like that so it's just soreness and being able to manage that."
Q: About extending the defense in the second half at Virginia Tech.
HD: "We are going to do that more. I really liked it. When we were in Portland, I felt like we trapped a lot more against Alabama and I felt like it was effective for us and so then at Virginia Tech, we extended that pressure with about 10 minutes to go in the game and I really liked it and the players this week have come to me individually and said how much they did like it and that this is something they would like to do more. After watching that on the bus ride back, I told the rest of the coaches that this is something that we're going to do. It's really good, it's something that we should use throughout the game, not just in game situations, whether you're behind or not and I think it could be really good for us."
Q: Is it more effective with the three guards in at a time?
HD: "I wouldn't say it's more effective with the three guards, Seth and Caleb [Love] and RJ [Davis] are very good on ball defenders, they're very quick, so it's nice to have those guards out there. I don't think it has to have those three out there. I think an effective trap, being able to get steals and deflections, it's all about activity and for whatever reason, that group brought tremendous activity out there on the floor and that's why I kept them on there, I just felt like that group for whatever reason was working and that's why I kept them on the floor for pretty much the remainder of the game."
Q: What does UNC need to better defensively?
HD: "One of the things is just protecting the paint. I'll tell you two things. It's one, protecting the paint. Over the last two games, Indiana and Virginia Tech have gotten 92 points in the paint. That's just not sustainable, that's not good, that's just not going to work. Just reinforcing our positioning to be able to take away the layups and the dunks and the deep post catches and the easy looks right around the rim, just have to do a better job at that, it is what it is. We've been talking all day everyday about protecting the paint. The second thing on the defensive end, is having trust. From a defensive standpoint, I have felt like we haven't trusted each other, and one of the things that I told them is what you have to do is, if you give help, and I've been telling us everyday, if you give help, you will get help. OIf you get help, you will get help. And just trusting that if you give help, your teammate will give you help. And I think that's been the biggest thing defensively. Throughout a game, you're going to get beat and you've got to trust that your teammate will be there. That consistently hasn't been happening. So we just talked about that and I felt like when I said that, all of them looked up and looked at me and I think it resonated with them and my hope is it can play out in tomorrow's game too."
Q: About shutting out noise of praise and how that narrative has been flipped and what his message is.
HD: "I haven't specifically talked to them about how it's changed. Again, I am not on social media. I don't read the newspaper, I don't look at the news, I'm not in chat rooms, so I have no idea what people are saying. I'm assuming it's from the criticism direction. To me, my stance has always been, whether it comes from the criticism direction or the praise direction, it's noise. You've got to learn how to turn down the noise from the phone, family, and friends whatever direction it is. That's something that I always talk about but haven't specifically talked about which direction it's coming from now, because I don't care, and I don't even care to look at it or read it or to look at it."
Q: About challenges of players seeing negative noise on social media.
HD: "Even though I haven't seen it, some of our guys got two phones, so that's extra noise. They're 18, 19 years old and have two phones and I'm married and have three kids and got one phone. That's a lot of noise. Reading the comments on Instagram, reading a newspaper, looking at TV shows. One of the things that you have to do, I tell them, is turn it off or turn it down. Not look at it as much or turn the phone off. I like to spend my time on what is real and what is real is focusing on our improvement as a team and focusing on tomorrow against a very good Georgia Tech team. That's where my focus is on. I just think it's a waste of time to focus on someone's opinion that isn't in the locker room and isn't in practice, doesn't have a uniform, isn't on the floor, and doesn't run out of the tunnel. It is what it is and let's just focus on who we are, let's see if we can get better each day and at the end of the day, let's just live with the results and have fun."
Q: About what Coach Davis has noticed studying Georgia Tech.
HD: "Coach Pastnor is an unbelievable coach and they have a unique system. From a defensive standpoint, they mix up their defenses and most of the time when they make a shot, they're in one of their two different types of zones, whether it's a 1-3-1 or a matchup zone, and on a missed shot, they're back in their man to man. And they can do a number of things out of their man to man defense. You know from an offensive standpoint, most of the time, if not all the time, their offense is bound by their Princeton principals and in preparation to them, you have to tweak and alter and change a little bit how you play defensively to put yourself in a position and be able to defend back cuts and different types of motions. For them, it's the same as last year, different people. They don't have [Michael] Devoe and [Jordan] Usher…but it doesn't matter. They've got unbelievable players that thrive in that system. They compete, they play hard, they just came off a really good win at home against Georgia and so they're coming in confident as well. I'm looking forward to the challenge tomorrow."
Players Mentioned
F/C
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G/F
/ Men's Basketball
G/F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
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